Insulated railway-rail joint.



PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

B. G. BRAINE.

INSULATED RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1802.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

lNVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905. B. G. BRAINE. INSULATED RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 23, 1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: I INVENTOR:

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No. 797,490. PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905;

B. G. BRAINB.

INSULATED RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR? M 62 fiqfinwu'ym ATTORNEYS.

No. 797,490. PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

- B. G. BRAINE.,. INSULATED RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1902.

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iNVENTOR= g Bmnwvmft, fiifimwume, BY

. ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BANOROFT G. BRAINE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 'TO THE CONTINUOUS RAIL JOINT COMPANY OF AMERICA, A CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY.

' INSULATED RAILWAY-RAIL UOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1905.

Application filed July 23, 1902. Serial No. 116,604.

T 0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BANGROFT Gr. BRAINE, a citizen of the-United States, residing at New York, in the borough of Brooklyn and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lnsulatedRailway- Rail Joints; and l dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class of railway-rail joints in which the connected rail ends must be electrically insulated from each other; and'the objects of the invention are to enable such insulation to be obtained in connection with the use of ordinary connectingplates, to secure an effective electrical insulation of one railway-rail from the next in order of alinement without materially reducing the rigidity of connection, to retain direct contact of a portion of each connectingplatewith the rails, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which may be referred to hereinafter in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved insulated railway-rail joint and in the arrangements and combinations of partsof the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures, Figure l is a plan of a railway-rail joint, showing my invention in its preferred form employed with connecting-plates of the continuous type. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a section taken at line :12 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the insulation detached from the rails. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of construction applicable to the continuous type of rail-joint; and Fig. 6 is a cross-section of the same of line y, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of such modified insulation detached. Figs. 8 to 11 show in plan, side elevation, section, and perspective, respectively, my invention as applied to rail-joints employin Patent No. 427,017, of April 29, 1890.

Said connecting-plates are formed to provide bearings to support the heads of the rails on the under side, to bear upon theupper sides of the rail-flanges, and to engage and support the under side of said flanges, and to this end said connecting-plates are provided withvertical parts (Z, having op positely-inclined'bearings e f at'top and bottom, and thus adapted to be wedged between the heads-and flanges of the rails, and have downwardly and laterally inclined extensionsg from "thelowe'redge of the said verticalparts (Z, which extensions are continued or are provided with inward horizontal extensions it, which provide the bearings for the under side of the rail. The connecting-plates, thus in general way described, while preferably having the above detail construction are preferably reduced at certain of the bearings to make room for the interposed sheet-insulation b, constructed and arranged as I will now proceed to detail. Said sheet-insulation is shaped either preliminary to its being interposed between the parts to be insulated or by the pressure of the said parts when being connected and is preferably of one integral piece when it extends between the rail ends and lies on opposite sides of the opposite rails. It may, however, be in more than one integral piece without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. j

j indicates the mid-web of the insulation adapted to lie between, the abutting ends of the alined rails. This web conforms to the shape of the rails in cross-section and at its opposite ends or edges provides opposite longitudinal extensionslrk, one of which is shaped and adapted to lie close against one side of one rail of a pair of rails and the other of which is shaped and adapted to engage the opposite side of the other rail of said pair, as shown in Fig. 4. Said longitudinal extensions are, as shown in Fig. 8, adapted to lie between the head 272., web a, and flange 0 of the rail and the extensions or parts (Z r of the connectingplate.

The rails and insulation being arranged in proper relation to one another, the connectingplates are bolted in place, and the said plates each bear directly upon one rail, making metallic contacts, but are insulated from the other rail, and thus each rail, because of the direct contact, is supported and held rigidly in proper relation, and the insulation is protected greatly from pressure and rupture due to impact, the construction thus conducing both to durability of insulation and rigidity and strength to resist the weight and wear of the train.

Beneath the bottom of the rail and the hori- .Zontal extensions of the connecting-plates I may 1nterpose a sheet of insulation which is separate from the upper insulation first described, as illustrated in Figs. 5 to 7; but the said upper insulation is preferably provided at its longitudinal extensions 7r: with inwardlybending parts 6 (illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4) and adapted to lie between the base of the rail and horizontal portions h of the connecting-plates, the whole insulation being molded to suit the rails and connections or built up or formed by applications of pieces. The insulation may be of rubber, paper, or other fiber or a composition of various electrically-noil-conductive materials. The connecting-plates, it will be understood, have to be machined out or recessed at their inner surfaces to accommodate the insulation, obviously, each one from one end throughout half its length. A well-litting union of parts is thus obtained. In the .construction employed in Figs. 5 to 7 obviously the horizontal portion [L of each connecting-plate does not have to be machined out, but can be rolled to lie at the desired distance from the oblique portion 9 above.

In Figs. 8 to 11 I have shown the form of insulation adapted to an angle-bar connectingplate 9 or one having an upright member 9' adapted to wedge at its upper and lower edges r against the head and base-flange of the rail and having said lower edge extended downwardly outward to form an oblique foot member s. The form of insulation adapted to this kind of joint is the same as the upper portion shown in Figs. 5 to 7, comprising the mid-rib j and longitudinal extensions 7a.

In Figs. 12 to 15 is illustrated a form of insulation adapted for use in connection with simple fiat fish-plates or splice-bars 2., which lie parallel to the web a of the rail and engage the head and base-flange at their upper and lower edges. This form of insulation is substantially the same as that shown in Figs. 8 to 11 and just described, except that the longitudinal extensions k are shortened at their lower edges.

In all the constructions shown and described it will be evident that the insulation maybe made either integral or in more than one piece, and in any case said insulation is fitted with the connecting-plates against the meeting rail ends and then firmly clamped by the usual transverse bolt 10. The holes in the connecting-plates to receive said bolts are lined by thimbles 2; of insulation, and the web 7 of the rail has a similar thimble c where it is perforated. Insulated washers w are, furthermore, placed outside the connectingplates, between the same and the head or nut of the bolt.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is 1. The combination with the rails and connecting-plates, of an electrical insulator comprising a mid-web and oppositely-integral longitudinal extensions therefrom, adapted to engage the sides of the rails, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the rails and connecting-plates, of an insulating mid-web having a longitudinal extension from one edge thereof and another longitudinal extension from the opposite edge directed oppositely from the first said longitudinalextensions, substantially as set forth.

3. As an article of manufacture, an insulation, for railway-joints, consisting of a midweb conforming to the rail in end View and having from one side edge a longitudinal extension to engage the side of one rail and having a longitudinal extension from the'opposite edge to engage the opposite side of the other opposite rail, substantially as set forth.

4L. The combination with two rails arranged in alinement, of a mid-web of insulation arranged between the ends of said rails and longitudinal extensions of said insulations extending oppositely from the said mid-web, and connecting-plates one of which engages one of the longitudinal extensions at one side of the joint between the rails and the rail direct on the opposite side of said joint, and the other of which plates engages the rail and insulation one on one side of-the joint and the other on the other side, the said rails being each in direct contact with one of the conmeeting-plates but insulated from one another, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of July, 1902.

BANOROFT G. BRAINE.

Witnesses:

Oi-IARLEs H. PELL, C. B. PI'INEY. 

